At nearly 2,700 miles, Chile's length from north to south is about the same distance as the United States' width from east to west. Nestled between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, this narrow South American country comprises a wide range of landforms. At different geographic latitudes, Chile boasts a Mars-like desert, towering volcanoes, massive glacial fields, glimmering blue lakes and islands that have inspired everything from literary classics to Tiki-themed cocktails.

Mountains and Volcanoes

The Andes Mountains extend nearly the entire length of Chile and create a natural border with Argentina. As the world's longest mountain chain, the Andes are the most prominent landform in Chile with towering peaks like Nevado Ojos del Salado reaching nearly 23,000 feet in height. The Andes are located along the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped area in the Pacific Basin famous for volcanoes, of which Chile has hundreds. The Villarrica Volcano is especially popular; several tour companies in Pucon, a Lakes District town south of Santiago, arrange treks up the volcano with the option to descend on sleds or snowboards.

Glaciers

Chile claims the majority of South America's glaciers, and the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields in the far south of Chile represent the third-largest continental ice mass on the planet, trailing only Antarctica and Greenland. The Northern Fields, which include the large San Quintin and San Rafael glaciers, are within Laguna San Rafael National Park. Tours out of nearby Coyhaique or Puerto Chacabuco take you to the glaciers. The Southern Fields make up the second-largest continuous ice sheet outside the polar regions; on the Argentine side, travelers can walk atop the Perito Moreno Glacier on tours from El Calafate. On the Chilean side, boats take travelers to see the Serrano Glacier descend down Mount Balmaceda, while most treks through Torres del Paine National Park pass the massive Grey Glacier.

Deserts

A small part of the Patagonia Desert dips into Chile from Argentina, but the country's most famous desert is Atacama, in the north bordering Bolivia. Atacama is the driest desert in the world, and NASA utilized its otherworldly terrain to prepare for Mars exploration. From San Pedro de Atacama, tourist agencies offer desert excursions to Valle de la Luna ("Moon Valley"), the high-elevation Tatio Geysers, the flamingo-packed Lagunas Altiplanicas, salty Laguna Cejar and several surreal rock formations.

Lakes

Atacama's salt lake is fun for those who like to float effortlessly atop the water, but Chile's premiere freshwater destination is a series of lakes south of Santiago. The Chilean Lakes District includes rustic Old World towns like Pucon, Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt, many of which were settled in part by German immigrants. Winding through the Lakes District towns, the landscape is densely packed with deep forests, snowcapped volcanoes and rushing rivers. Fodor's suggests a traveler could mistake the area for rural Austria. Still, the area's primary landforms are the vibrantly blue lakes that give the district its name. Pachamama (pachamamabybus.com) takes travelers on minibus tours of the main lakes, but many people visit the lakes independently by bicycle, motorcycle or car.

Islands

Easter Island, one of the most remote inhabited territories in the world, is more than 2,000 miles from Chile. The Polynesian island earned UNESCO distinction for the 900 or so moai statues there. Carved from single pieces of stone, these giant human forms sit in long rows throughout the island. If Easter Island is popular with anthropologists, Robinson Crusoe Island is big with literary buffs. More than three centuries ago, a British sailor was marooned on this island for nearly 4.5 years, and his story inspired the Daniel Defoe novel “Robinson Crusoe.” Both islands can be reached only by airplane. Southwest of the Lakes District, the Chiloe Archipelago encompasses numerous islands, though the main tourist destination is the namesake Chiloe, which you can reach by ferry or plane. In total, Chile claims more than 5,000 islands, and some are even available for private purchase.

About the Author

David Jenison served as a staff editor for more than 10 years, contributing to magazines such as "Grammy," "Burn Lounge," "Ingenue," "Hypno," "Mean Street" and "Dispatch." He also wrote a weekly column for E! Online.